Paleo Lemon and Blueberry Loaf

I, like many people, just love to watch the Great British Bake Off. It's just such an entertaining show and it's one that encourages people to get back into the kitchen! What more do you need? Now if you are anything like me you will need to watch this show stuffed to the brim or have some nice healthy cakes to hand. Otherwise you will spend the entire show drooling and/or repeatedly going to your cupboards hoping some baked creation will have magically appeared.

To prevent such sweet cravings I try and have some sort of cake made and waiting to fill the void. I recently tried this lemon and blueberry loaf and really enjoyed it. It's light and tasty with just enough stodge to satisfy. It is moist and so easy to make and keeps for a few days (if you don't polish it off in one sitting!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of ground almonds
1/4 cup of dessicated coconut
1 teaspoon of gluten free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
4 organic, free range eggs
1/2 cup of organic coconut oil - melted (Cold pressed/Extra Virgin if possible)
1/3 cup of raw honey (organic and local ideally)
Juice of 1 lemon (organic and unwaxed)
Zest of 2 lemons
1 - 1 1/2 cups of organic blueberries

Optional glaze:
1/3 cup of full fat butter - melted
2 tablespoons of softened coconut oil
2 tablespoons of raw honey
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C or Gas Mark 4.
Mix all the dry ingredients together except for the blueberries.
Slowly add in the wet ingredients, one egg at a time.
Ensure the batter is mixed thoroughly.
Line a bread loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Place 1/2 the batter in the tin. Using 1/2 of the blueberries place them gently on top of the batter.
Cover with the remaining batter and then the remaining blueberries.
Cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes covering with foil if turning too brown.
When it is cooked allow it to cool on a wire rack.
If you wish to use the glaze then mix all ingredients together and once the loaf is fully cool drizzle the glaze over the top and allow it to soak into the cake.
Slice and enjoy!

Prep Time:
5-10 minutes

Cooking Time:
30-35 minutes

Dietary Information:
Paleo
Gluten Free
Wheat Free
Sugar Free
Diary Free
Vegetarian
Good Fats
Blueberries are one of your 5 a day and provide many anti oxidants which are great for repairing and healing resulting in better skin, hair, nails and overall health.

Storage Instructions:
Like most cakes this is best eaten warm from the oven! But it will keep for a few days in a sealed container. If you have good will power you could slice the loaf and freeze in individual slices to be defrosted and eaten when wanting a quick treat!

Enjoy this dish guys. I really do and it definitely fills a gap for stodgey, sweet treats without breaking free from eating clean.